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A Year Of Thanks: Live Music Moments of 2023 Our Team is Most Thankful For

November 17, 2023 - By Alec Tatro

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The holiday season is upon us music fans - and we couldn't be more grateful for an amazing year of live music with our friends, family, and the whole CashorTrade community! As nature slows down and the air gets colder this Thanksgiving season, we wanted to reflect on a hot year of music as we drift into the homestretch of 2023 - so cozy up in your pajamas, spin some Arlo Guthrie, and enjoy a bountiful serving of staff picks.

Without further ado: What live music moments were you thankful for this year, team?

Shawn - Support

For me, I would have to say the Kitchen Dwellers Halloween show at the Georgia Theatre, right into the sold out 3-night Denver run last weekend. It was a much needed time with the fam and all 4 shows were absolute fire. First time selling out the Ogden for those boys too, so it was a pretty cool moment for all of us.

I'm also very grateful to be apart of such a great organization that allows me to travel for music while also fighting the good fight towards fair ticketing for all!


Matt - Product

I was honored to be invited to Tom Marshall's 60th birthday party at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ. It was an absolutely amazing day... the kind of event where the most frequent topic of conversation was how happy everyone was. Seeing friends from so many different parts of our lives all together to celebrate our friend. And watching two friends who have been writing songs together for 50 years and love each other deeply play some of their songs for the assembled friends was the icing on the cake!

(Photos by Ron Adelberg)
Sasha - Marketing

Jeez where do I even start with 2023?! I'm super thankful for an absolutely epic year of live music and travel, and for joining the team at CashorTrade mid-way through it. We went to all-night raves in Buenos Aires and Carnival in Montevideo in the winter. Spring was our first Jazz Fest in New Orleans and the last SCamp as we know it - saying hello to a new musical friend and farewell to another. Then there were some incredible Disco Biscuits shows in Montana. Oh and how about seeing Phish at MSG and Metallica over my birthday weekend?! Dead & Co in Boulder was special, especially that drone show and Dave sit-in! Last but not least, the glorious return of Pretty Lights and three nights dancing under the stars with them at the Caverns. 2024 has tough shoes to fill!


Sam - Support

I am grateful to have made it to a show at Red Rocks again this year! It's always a magical experience with the best crowds! Lost Frequencies blew our minds on his Colorado debut!

Dana - Marketing

I'm thankful for the return of Pretty Lights, Spring Tour - the best Phish tour since Fall 2021 (I'll say it!), King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard doing a real US Tour in 2023... and the upcoming 2024 Tour!

Emma - Marketing

(I'm) Grateful for the people in my life that came to me through the Phish community. Hitting all of Spring tour and 100 Phish shows made me feel like Everything's Right!



Hannah - Operations

Grateful for Phish raising money for my home state of VT after the floods and for the kind fan who sold me a face value PIT on CoT. I had never been on the rail or in the PIT at SPAC and got to do it with my best friends in my hometown venue!


Ashley - Marketing

I'm grateful for the last two decades of Summer Camp Music Festival. The 2023 event was a bittersweet celebration on many levels, especially after Scamp announced it would be the final year of the event. I m glad that I could be there to close out this epic Midwest festival which has meant so much to so many for so long. NOLA Jazz Fest is always a personal favorite of mine. The city is wild, overflowing with music everywhere, non-stop, for two weeks straight. I usually never miss it, but this year was my first time back post-Covid, so it was even more special to me.


Alec - Marketing

2023 was a killer year of music for me and the friends and loved ones I got to share it with - from seeing Dead & Co crush it during their farewell in NYC and Boston, to 7 shows of Phish at MSG, with 4 just around the corner - the litany of musical marathons were ever in my favor this year. The moment that stands out the most for me was getting to see the return of Chuck Garvey of moe. after his hiatus while recovering from a stroke he suffered in 2021 at Higher Ground in VT, and Brooklyn Bowl NYC. To see him in good health, playing flawlessly, and surrounded by the bandmates and moe.rons that cheered him on through his battle was one of the most intimate and radiating string of shows I've witnessed. As soon as he got to his talkbox solo in Happy Hour Hero - the crowd erupted in thunderous cheer. My .rons know what I'm talkin' about!

Dusty - Co-Founder

2023 Phish at Dicks Sporting Goods Park in Denver Colorado on labor day weekend this past year was my highlight. Good friends uniting after years of seeing shows, great weather, and the band crushed it. #grateful

Of course, we're also all thankful for YOU! Thank you for embracing the face and being a part of this community, we couldn't do this without you. If you'd like to join the discussion, please click here to let us know what live music moments you're thankful for this year.

We hope you have an amazing holiday season and that you get to end the year with some live music. If you haven't done so already, be sure to check out our After Midnite NYE giveaway, where you can win a pair of tickets to nine different NYE shows around the country!